


plausible deniability

by InLust



Series: two sides of the same coin [1]
Category: For the People (TV 2018)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Morning After, Secret Relationship, Soft Girlfriends, bisexual kate, bisexual sandra, post s2e5
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-10
Updated: 2019-04-10
Packaged: 2020-01-10 19:38:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18414524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InLust/pseuds/InLust
Summary: So what had happened was: Sandra leaves with Ted but ends up in Kate's bed (and the morning after)post s2e5





	plausible deniability

**Author's Note:**

> i said i wouldnt do this again, but yet here i am rewriting canon because littlebell feels are THAT good
> 
> and i hope you all enjoy it!

Sandra wakes up to the sound of her alarm blaring at her from all directions. It’s jarring and annoying as she grumbles, shifting in the sheets for her alarm. 

The cool sheets slip down her chest and she realizes with the cool morning air that she is very _naked_. And as she reaches blindly for her phone, where her nightstand usually is, her hand falls on something warm, soft, and definitely breathing. 

She picks up her head quickly, trying to regain all of her senses in the very new environment she’s in. 

The alarm is still going off very loudly and it takes her a moment to realize there are actually **two** alarms going off. 

Beside her, a head of blonde hair shifts and presses the snooze button on the alarm before turning over. 

Sandra’s eyebrows shoot up as she faces Kate in bed. For a brief moment she forgets that she didn't make it home last night.

Kate looks at her with a look of both confusion and amusement as she runs her hand through her hair. “Your alarm is still going off,” she points out with sleepy eyes. There’s a small yawn that comes out of her. 

Sandra stops staring and quickly rolls back over to find the source of the alarm. When she does, she feels a dull throb in the front of her head like she’s moved her brain entirely against her skull. She holds back the nausea even though she can feel her stomach rumbling hungrily. She finds her purse haphazardly thrown on the chair near the window with half of the contents littered on the ground. 

There are two things she realizes when she gets up: she’s _bare_ naked and _very_ sore. She bites her lip and tugs at the sheet before realizing that Kate is still also under it. 

Instead of pulling the sheet around her completely, she just tugs it enough to cover her chest and reaches awkwardly for her purse until it’s at the bedside and rifles through what’s left for her phone. When she turns off her alarm she sees multiple messages from Allison and Ted and decides that later is probably best to read those because she has to deal with the morning after with Kate Littlejohn right now. 

Sandra bites her lip and looks over her shoulder at Kate, who seems to have fallen back asleep. Instead of getting out of bed, she drops her phone back into her purse and takes a deep breath before turning onto her back. She stares at the ceiling, clutching the sheet to her chest.

\---------------

It was chilly or at least it felt chilly. Sandra tucked herself into her jacket and clutched her purse on her shoulder as she looked up and down the street. She can tell she’s a little drunk because it’s a bit blurry looking up and down the street, but she remains vigilant. 

Ted had gone back upstairs because he’d forgotten his phone.

“You left without saying goodbye,” Kate says, suddenly appearing beside her, looking comfortable in her peacoat.

“Hey, what’re you doing here?” Sandra asks, surprised. She stares at Kate’s bright eyes, feeling enamored as always. 

“I am headed home also. I like to be up early.” Kate looks around, breaking eye contact as casually as she can. “Are you waiting for your ride?” 

Sandra nods, feeling sheepish as she says. “I’m waiting for Ted.” 

Kate nods wordlessly at the detail. “He should be down soon.” She doesn’t look at Sandra anymore. 

Something about that tugs at Sandra’s chest and without thinking, she blurts out. “I’m not going home with him. He offered a ride because Al wanted to stay a bit longer. I wanted to sleep because I’m usually up early too.”

Kate looks back at Sandra, tilting her head with interest. “I didn’t say anything--” 

“I just wanted you to know,” Sandra explains quickly. “Because Ted’s a good guy and he’s just a _friend_.” 

Kate takes a step closer to Sandra and it feels impossibly close. Either Sandra is _that_ cold or Kate is radiating that much heat. “You don’t have to explain yourself to me.” Her voice is low and deliberate. 

Sandra looks up at Kate, throat drying. “I’m--I know. I just don’t want you to get the wrong idea.” 

“What is the right idea then?”

She knows she should think of that but all she can focus on is Kate in her all of her senses. The vague smell of beer and whiskey. The warmth of her body near hers. The deeply focused eyes staring back at her. The glistening lips under the street lamps.  

Sandra knows that Assistant US Attorney Kate Littlejohn is the same Kate standing before her. The tough, focused, deliberate woman is very much standing before her, but it feels completely different. Kate standing before her now feels like so much  _more_. 

“Sandra?” There’s a hint of concern in Kate’s voice. 

Her attention is on Kate’s lip and she feels the pull inside of her heart. Without thinking, she tilts her head up and kisses Kate quickly. 

Kate’s hands come up to catch Sandra by her cheeks and Sandra warms instantly because Kate pull her in to deepen the kiss. Sandra wraps her arms around Kate’s waist, wanting to feel Kate fully against her. She suddenly feels like falling when Kate’s tongue slips into her mouth. She moans softly. 

A car slowly rolls up beside them and Kate pulls back slowly, breathing heavily as she keeps her hands on Sandra’s cheeks. She looks at Sandra carefully. “Do you want to come over?”

Sandra feels her heart pound inside of her. She hadn’t thought this far, but everything inside of her screams yes. She doesn't want to stop kissing Kate. “Yes. I’m saying yes.”

Kate smiles at her and opens the door to the car. She slips her hand into Sandra’s and pulls her into the car. 

Sandra moves on autopilot, feeling Kate’s warm hand in hers. The world feels flipped upside down as she sits in the vehicle, pressed against Kate’s side. The alcohol really settles into her system as the car moves. 

Kate doesn’t say anything and stares ahead as the driver keeps going. There’s no doubt the driver saw them kissing on the sidewalk. Her thumb brushes over Sandra’s hand. Slowly. Steadily. Firmly.

Sandra looks up at Kate and stares at Kate’s face under the city lights. Even at night she’s radiant with her blond hair hair shimmering. She reaches out to cup Kate’s cheek and pulls her in for another kiss. Kate kisses her back with ease. The grip on Sandra’s hand is more firm. Sandra wants more and more. She tugs at Kate’s jacket until they’re facing each other. Kate’s hand on her waist inside of her jacket, sliding up--

Sandra moans, keening into her touch. 

Then it stops. 

Kate’s hand is still at her waist, but she’s pulled back. Her hot breath still caresses Sandra’s face. “Wait,” she huskily says. It doesn’t stop the heat pooling in Sandra. “We’re almost there.”

Her body thrums with excitement. She can’t wait. She brushes her nose against Kate’s, teasing, and she leans in to close the gap. 

Kate smiles against Sandra’s lips. Then kisses her cheek, down to her jaw, and just underneath her ear. 

Sandra moans some more as Kate kisses her neck just a little bit and nips at her earlobe. She feels her hot breath against her ear and hears something about public indecency. And she giggles.  

\---------------

“If you leave now, you can probably stop at home before going in.”

Sandra looks over at Kate. “What?”

Kate looks back at Sandra. “Three hours until work. You have time if you need to go.”

“Are you--” Sandra feels a bit hurt for some reason. 

“You are more than welcome to stay. Breakfast, coffee, shower, and spare clothes…” 

Sandra turns onto her side with keen interest. “You’re okay with this? With us sleeping together?”

“Did you not want to?”

Sandra recalls the night before quite vividly. She had said yes. _A lot._ Her cheeks warm. “Of course, I wanted to. It’s just we are going to see each other at work for years. We will go up against each other.”

Kate nods thoughtfully. “If you think this was a bad idea, then we don’t have to make this awkward,” she declares deliberately. “We are professional.”

Sandra is taken aback by Kate’s response and she can hear the missing notes. Kate is smart and direct with her thoughts, but Sandra can tell that she can skirt around her emotions. Sandra does it just as well if not better. “Kate, what do you want?”

Kate swallows at the direct question. She mirrors Sandra, tucking her hand under her head. “You.” 

Sandra furrows her brows. She expected a direct answer but she wasn’t expecting that. It makes her heart pound. Kate wants her. Sandra wants her too. She grasps Kate’s neck and pulls her in for a kiss. 

The hunger inside of her grows until her stomach lets out a low growl. 

Sandra pulls back completely embarrassed at the ruined moment. 

Kate chuckles and slides out of bed. “Breakfast it is.”

\---------------

Sandra gets to the office early as usual and makes a beeline for her office in case anyone, namely Allison and Jay catches her. She pulls out last night’s shirts and pants from her bag and sticks it in her desk because she knows she won’t make it to the apartment until the end of the day. Luckily for her Kate had a few items of clothing that Sandra could actually wear without looking like she spent the night. The pants were an old pair that luckily fit Sandra, but a bit long with Sandra in flats instead of heels. 

“So you _are_ alive.” Ted stands in the doorway with a smile on his face.

“Ted!” Sandra greets with surprise. She stands there nervously. One minute she’s supposed to get a ride from Ted. The next thing she knows she’s kissing Kate. She feels bad for leaving Ted behind last night. “What’re you doing here?”

“I work here.” Ted stares at her knowingly, stepping into her office. “I was a little worried when you didn’t text back, but I’m assuming you were in good hands?”

Sandra licks her lips, wishing he didn’t put it like that. “Uhm, yeah. I took a cab home.”

Ted nods, keeping the smile on his face. “Kate Littlejohn is a funny name for a cab.” He definitely knows and there’s no chance that Sandra can hide it. 

Sandra throws her hands up. “Oh my god,” she lets out rushing to shut her door. She holds up a finger at him. “You cannot say anything to anyone. Please promise me you won’t tell anyone.”

Ted laughs wholeheartedly at Sandra’s distress. 

“You told everyone already didn’t you?” Sandra’s expression grows dire. 

“Yeah, didn’t you see the group chat?”

“The group chat?!” Sandra exclaims in his face.

Ted laughs even harder. “I’m kidding, Sandra,” he says through his laughs. “I’m just messing with you.”

Sandra slaps at his shoulders. “You’re such a jerk!” Ted recoils, still laughing. “Why would you scare me like that?”

“I can’t help it, you’re funny when you’re mad,” Ted answers with his laughter abating.

Sandra pouts angrily and rounds her desk to take a seat. “If you’re done trying to give me a heart attack, you can go back to your work I guess.”

Ted takes the seat across from Sandra and makes himself comfortable. “Last night, Allison stopped me when I got upstairs and told me I better not break your heart,” he informs casually.

“ _What?_ ” Sandra screeches. 

“She thought since we were leaving together that you were coming home with me,” Ted explains with a shrug. 

“What?” Sandra parrots. She shakes her head. “Did _you_ think I was going home with you?”

Ted throws his hands up in surrender. “Only if you wanted to, since we like each other.” Sandra’s jaw drops. “Not like _like_ , I mean platonically but I’m not averse to casual nights.” Sandra scoffs with a bit of disgust. “I’m just being honest.”

Sandra nods. “That’s fair.”

Ted knows that. He leans forward in his seat. “So what do you wanna say about last night? Allison thinks you went home with me but you actually went home with Kate.”

Sandra doesn’t know what to do. She hadn’t planned on anyone finding out about Kate and her leaving together the night before. But in a way she's grateful that it’s Ted that found out. She does like him and he’s a good guy for talking to her first. “Okay, here’s what you’re going to do. You only saw me get into a car assuming that it was to take me home. As far as you know nothing happened thereafter. I got a ride home as we planned and you deny anything outside of those facts. Plausible deniability.” Ted raises his eyebrows and Sandra pleads. “Please just go with it, if she thinks it’s anything between us, it’s just ideas. I’ll tell Allison eventually but this thing with Kate is new and we want to see where it goes before telling people we work with.”

Ted understands easily and smiles sympathetically to bring her some comfort. “Sounds good to me.” He stands up. “If you ever need to talk, you know where to find me.” 

Sandra feels at ease at his words. “Thanks, Ted. I really appreciate it.”

\---------------

“Do you--uhm--” Sandra breathes heavily. Her thighs quiver at the cool air between her legs after Kate strips her of her jeans and underwear. She sucks in a breath with Kate’s lips on her stomach. 

Kate kisses her way up Sandra’s body until she’s settled comfortably between her legs. “Do I what?” she murmurs against her collar bone. 

“Do you know what you’re doing?” Sandra gasps. “O-kay. That’s-- _yes, yes_ \--” Sandra throws back her head with a moan as Kate’s fingers slip inside of her.

Kate laughs in her ears. "What was that?" she facetiously adds.

"F--Kate, don't stop--"

\---------------

Kate feels good. She’s had a good night and a good morning. She tries not to think too hard about it in the office, but she can’t shake the uplifting sensation. 

Sandra did very little to break her routine to her surprise. Not that she would actively break her routine, she rarely did that for anyone, but she didn’t mind the extra five minutes of shut eye while Sandra stewed in her thoughts beside her. She liked Sandra. 

Sandra was smart, passionate, and honest to god a bit annoying. Regardless, Kate liked her. She’s charmed by her. It’s hard to not be charmed by Sandra because Sandra’s an unstoppable force that burns with a thousand suns and that’s something to be admired. 

“You left early last night,” Leonard points out beside her as they look through their new cases. 

“I did,” Kate doesn’t break her concentration from the file in her hands as she walks back to her office. 

“You didn’t say goodbye.” 

“I did.” 

“Not to me.” 

“I definitely did.” 

“You didn’t have to though.” 

Kate looks up at him, slipping into her chair. “Why wouldn’t I have?” 

“We could’ve shared a car,” Leonard stands in the doorway. “My place would’ve been closer.” 

Kate furrows her brow at his suggestion. Before she can say anything, he taps her door frame with his folder. 

“Another time I guess,” he says before leaving her. 

Kate shakes her head. She can’t be bothered with that right now. And she won’t be. 

Her phone chirps beside her. 

**Sandra** : What time do you eat lunch? 

Kate smiles. 

**Kate** : 12:15pm. Why?

**Sandra** : So we can eat together.

**Kate** : Okay. We can meet at Columbus Park. 

There’s a knock on her door that catches her attention. No one ever knocks on her door.

“Am I interrupting something?” Allison asks with a charming smile. 

Kate suppresses the smile that Sandra brings to her face and opts for a more professional expression. “Not at all,” she puts her phone down furtively and gestures for her to sit. 

Allison sits down across from Kate, getting comfortable, pulling out her folder to discuss their case. They’ve gotten to know each other better since they’ve started and she would be remiss to say that she doesn’t like Allison. Allison is very likeable and she definitely is Sandra’s rock.

Part of her wonders if Sandra has already told Allison, even if they said that they’d wait to tell people. Kate doesn’t have a best friend like Sandra does, but she gets it. Best friends share things with each other, especially when they live together. 

But it’s obvious that Sandra hasn’t because at the end of their meeting, Allison says, “You left around the time Sandra left right?”

Kate pauses. “Yes, I did.” She keeps it short and simple, giving nothing away. Inside she is a bit worried, which is completely irrational. 

“Did you see Sandra and Ted?”

“Why are you asking?” 

“You would’ve been the last person to see them. I just wanted to confirm that they left together.” 

It feels like Allison is running a trial on Kate. It makes her even more nervous. “This is something you should ask Sandra,” she skirts around. 

Allison clicks her tongue. “I have but she and Ted are both being evasive. They’re hiding something even though it’s pretty obvious they have a thing going on.” 

Kate tries not to raise her eyebrows with interest but they go up anyway. She can’t help it. It’s the first she’s heard of it and while she doesn’t partake in office gossip often, she’s not entirely ignorant. She’s only ever met Ted a few times and when she does it’s with Sandra. 

“Right,” Allison realizes. “I won’t bother you about this anymore. I’ll see you in court.”

\---------------

Sandra’s never been to Columbus Park. It’s nothing like Central Park whatsoever. There is green of course, small shrubs and grass patches and a basketball court that isn’t repaved, which is actually serving use for a train of kids on their daily walk at the moment. There are a few stone tables and seats where men and women are gathered to play Mahjong. 

Kate sits primly on a bench nearby the Mahjong players with her lunch on her lap. 

Sandra walks up to her, carrying her paperbag of Chinese food with her. “Hey you,” she says taking a seat right beside Kate. 

“Hi,” Kate greets brightly before glancing at her watch. She doesn’t say anything before she opens her triple layered tupperware. A mix of pasta salad sits inside with grilled chicken. 

“I’m not surprised you meal prep,” Sandra points out. With a tug of the paperbag, the staple holding it together pops out and she pulls out the single container. 

“Not all the time,” Kate says sheepishly. “But it is efficient when I’m working.” 

“Did I take you away from something important?” 

“Nothing that can’t wait until later.” 

Sandra smiles and bites the urge to lean in for a kiss. “Well, I hope so because I’d hate to get in your way of work.” 

“You have a habit of annoying me when you want something.” 

Sandra laughs sarcastically at the dry joke. “I would say you think you're so funny but it is true. My superpower is annoying people into doing things I want.” 

Kate nods, taking a bite of her pasta salad. “Next time, I’ll make you work a little harder to fit you in my schedule.” 

“ _Wooow_ , Kate Littlejohn, are you challenging me?” 

Kate doesn’t say anything and she doesn’t need to. She just smiles cheekily and takes another bite of her salad. 

Sandra feels her heart swell. It’s strange how far they’ve come from opposition to playful bantering. There should be some nervousness or tension after last night, but Sandra doesn’t feel it at all. Being around Kate feels almost as natural as it is with Allison. 

Except she can do this. 

Kate makes a small surprised sound as Sandra leans in to kiss her. Luckily, her bite was small and she didn’t choke on her food. She kisses back briefly before pulling back with a small blush. 

Sandra is massively satisfied seeing the blush on Kate’s face as she goes back to casually eating her food. She opens her container and chopsticks before digging in.

After a brief moment, Kate speaks up with, “According to Allison, you and Ted have a _thing_ going on.” 

A grain of rice lodges itself into the back of Sandra’s throat and she almost chokes. “I’m sorry _what_?” 

Kate remains impassive. “She asked me if I saw you leave with Ted last night. I told her it was something she should ask you. She seems convinced you two left together.”

Sandra rushes to explain. “We were leaving together, I told you, but he was only just giving me a ride home. And you know he’s just a friend. You know that right? There’s no _thing_ going on between us.” 

Kate studies Sandra wordlessly and it makes her nervous. It’s a bunch of hearsay and gossip that isn’t even real. Sandra can’t imagine Kate taking someone else’s words over hers. Especially since they spent breakfast establishing what they were to each other. 

“Honestly, I was surprised you didn’t already tell her,” Kate shrugs. 

“What?” 

“She’s your best friend. It only makes sense that you would tell her when the opportunity arose.” 

“God no. I love Al, but we talked about this already. I want to see where this goes and how serious it is before we tell people we work with. Al would worry too much about my relationship and ask for every detail about it. I know how private you are about your personal life; I wouldn’t violate that trust.”

The pinkness in Kate’s cheek spreads. “I appreciate that sentiment. I wouldn’t violate your trust either.”

Sandra feels more at ease, but she has to take a breath. They are being honest at the moment. “But you should know that Ted saw us leaving together.” Kate pauses. “I asked him to keep it quiet and deny anything that happened after I supposedly got a ride home.”

“Plausible deniability?” 

“Yes, exactly.” 

“You really did that?”

“Yes, I really want us to be us for now.”

This time Kate leans in and kisses Sandra on the cheek. 

Sandra tries her best not to preen, but she feels giddy. She takes a bite of her food. “So why did you choose Columbus Park?”

Kate looks off into the crowd and looks to the basketball court where the kids are playing tag. “In the mornings, the locals do Tai Chi here. For New York you can never really escape the bustling noise but for a moment here it can be quite peaceful.” 

Sandra stares at the romantic answer Kate says and instead of breaking the spell, she further prompts, “What else do you know about this place?”

Kate launches into all the facts she's learned about the whole area. Her unrelenting enthusiasm for sharing facts bring a smile to Sandra's face. She can't help but banter as Kate speaks for the rest of lunch. Honestly, she could get used to this.

**Author's Note:**

> come yell at me on nocteverbascio.tumblr.com


End file.
